Tools For Teaching

Plantation Woman's Essay To Help Lauderdale Kids

Every day Kathryn Quigley steps into her classroom at Dillard High in Fort Lauderdale, she is inspired by her students' perseverance.

Many come from low-income households, broken families or group homes. They battle through obstacles associated with either mental or physical disabilities.

To help them, the Plantation resident entered the Tools for Teaching contest. She was recently named a runner-up and presented a check for $1,500.

"I was in shock," she said. "The kids are excited."

As a special education teacher, Quigley helps her students achieve individual goals and be as independent as possible.

"I try to go above and beyond to get extra materials for the classroom," she said.

The contest is put on by Catalogs.com, in partnership with eNasco, which specializes in educational supplies. The contest received more than 1,000 essays from across the country in hopes of being one of the five winners to get a check to buy materials for their classrooms.

The prize went to purchase supplies for hands-on activities, as well as expanding the classroom's library with books and reading materials. She also ordered computer programs and games, which help her students practice communication, reasoning, mathematical and leisure skills.

Leslie Linevsky read every 400-word essay. The Catologs.com co-founder saw many tear-jerkers, and she thought Quigley's story was a compelling one.

"It got to my heart," she said. "One of the things that really hit me was her passion and how really specific she was about what she would do with the extra money."

As a company that represents more than 650 merchants, Catologs.com was looking into helping out schools.

"Teachers should have at least the bare basics and, hopefully, a little bit more," she said. "This will give them the tools to make a difference in the kids' lives so they want to go on to college. We hope we set an example for other companies to get involved."